Air cooling for internal combustion motors



Dec. 10, 1935. H. E. BLOMGREN AIR COOLING FOR INTERNALCOMBUSTION MOTORS Filed Aug. 24, 19:53

INVENTOR: fiflfilomyrelv,

' ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 10, 1935 PATENT, OFFICE AIR COOLING FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION MOTORS Henry E. Blomgren, Floral Park, N. Y., assignor of one-third to William D. McGurn, New

York, N. Y.

Application August 24, 1933, Serial No. 686,643

2 Claims.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending application Serial 639,055, filed October 22, 1932, for Internal combustion entors, by a coordination of the cylinder'form with the motion direction of the vehicle in which the motor is mounted.

An important aim is to enable the improvement of cooling of such motors while still employing simple 'fin devices on the combustion chamber, work chamber, or other working elements of the motor requiring to be'cooled. It is also anaimto'enable cooling by the incident air through which the locomotive passes, without the necessity for special casings, or fan devices.

It is an important object of the invention to avoid the objection found in prior constructions that where the motor is cooled by the simple radiation to the air and movement of the latter relatively solely by the motion of the vehicle through such air, that air is engaged by advanced cooling parts and deflected in such a manner as to impede circulation between remaining parts of the cooling fins, or causes such eddies that excessively heated air is caused to surround some parts of the heat radiating surfaces, thus reducing their effectiveness objectionably.

A special aim is to so form fins on a combustion chamber or cylinder that in movement of the latter normally with the vehicle in which it is installed, fresh air will be caused to constantly be brought into contact with the fins throughout the fins.

Additional objects, advantages and features of invention reside in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts as will appear from the following description and accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary formal showing of an airplane equipped with my invention.

Figure 2 is a side View of the motor.

Figure 3 is an end view of the motor.

Figure 4 is a cross section of a cylinder.

Figure 5 is a similar View of a modified cylinder.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross section of the cylinders inwardly of the chamber 2 I.

There is illustrated a power plant I0, which may be built to utilize various forms of internal combustion motors, but preferably those with cylinders adapted to be extended fore-and-aft on the craft or other vehicle in which the plant is installed. In Figure 1 the fuselage l I of an airplane is shown with a wing l2, under which the power plant I6 is mounted in suitable fashion. This-plant is constructed in accordance with the invention set forth in my copending application, .5 Ser. No. 639,055 filed October 22, 1932, and includes cylinders l3, arranged in sets parallel to the axis of the propellers i4, thelatter being mounted on a driven shaft extending through the'plant fore-and-aft. l0

' The cylinders l3 are consequently all extended in a fore-and-aft direction. They are equipped with a valve mechanism at l 6 in the heads of the cylinders, operated through a usual mechanism in housings ll spaced from the cylinders and-exl5 tending from the cam housing I 8.

The cylinders are shown as castings bolted to a transmission housing l9, and may be cast in pairs, as separate units, or in units of three or more, in accordance with the disclosure in my said prior application. The cylinder walls 20 have formed integrally therewith at their outer ends valve chambers 2| in which any usual valve and mounting may be employed, one form being shown in my said prior application. Extending longitudinally throughout the length of the outer part of the cylinders and the chamber 2| there are fins or vanes 22, which may be cast integrally with the cylinders as shown in the present instance. These fins are helicoidal, with a pitch of moderate degree. In the present instance, the helicoidal elements on each cylinder have as their axes the axes of the respective cylinders, and the pitch is such that the advanced end of each vane is nearly in line longitudinally of the cylinder with the rear end of the next fin on one side. The elements of the helicoid from the cylinder outward-that is, lines on the fins from their bases next the cylinder to their outer longitudinal edgesare radial, as in Figure 4, or may be slightly inclined so as to present an angle of more than degrees to their base tangents on their incident surfaces, as at 23, in Figure 5.

The plant being mounted in a vehicle or plane as indicated, when in operation and the vehicle is moving, air impinging against the forward portions of the fins is deflected in the direction of the incident faces of the fins. With the form in Figure 4 this will result in a rotative movement of the air engaged, on the axis of the cylinder. r In consequence, the air immediately next the fin will be caused by centrifugal force to move also radially, so that after a short movement against the fin it will be displaced by cooler air drawn after it, and this action will continue throughout the length of the fin, resulting in effective heat transfer throughout the length of the fin. In this way, the column of air entering between the fins is itself rotated on an axis parallel to and between the fins, its warmer parts being thrown outward from the incident face of the fin against which it impinges longitudinally, and the cooler air being supplied from its center or drawn inwardly from outwardly of the cylinder. The inclined arrangement of Figure will accentuate this function.

It should be understood that an important factor in the efiectiveness of the fins is the extremely high pitch of the helix on which they are formed. In other words, they are only slightly inclined with respect to the longitudinal elements of the cylinder and the direction of the movement of the vehicle. In this way, the tendency of air to pass across the outer longitudinal edges of the fins and form eddies swinging into the next adjacent fins is minimized, and the novel effects above described attained. If the fins each circumscribed the cylinders air engaging the fins would be obstructed excessively at the head of the cylinder, and would be caused to form eddies, so that heated air from the first convolution or convolutions would curve inward against the second and succeeding ones, resulting in deficient cooling of the rear portion of the cylinder. It is believed that the angle of the helix to a longitudinal element or line on the cylinder should not be over fifteen degrees, and preferably less.

In addition to the vanes 22, which are completely helicoidal, at the junction of two joined cylinders a joining part 23 integral with both cylinders is formed fromv which there springs a vane 24, shown in Figures 3 and 6, the base of which is rectilinear and parallel to the axes of both cylinders and integral with the joining part 23 throughout the length of the vane. The middle part of the vane is at right angles to the plane of the two cylinder axes, while the ends are in- 5 clined in opposite directions so that it has a helicoidal form the pitch of which is such that this vane lies uniformly spaced between the two adjacent vanes 22 on respective cylinders. In this way confinement of air by vanes on one cylinder projecting into close relation to the other is avoided, and free passage of air longitudinally close beside the cylinder junction assured. At the same time a large heat radiating fin is provided. On the cylinder heads the adjacent ends of the two vanes 23 may be integrally continued in a cross vane or fin 25 as illustrated.

I claim:

1. In a locomotive internal combustion power plant, a motor having cylinders arranged with their axes in a fore-and-aft direction, and having helicoidal fins thereon at an angle of not exceeding fifteen degrees to longitudinal elements of the cylinders, and being clear outwardly of the fins whereby incident air engaging the fins will be free to move radially from the fins.

2. An internal combustion air cooled motor having cylinders formed with longitudinal fins of helicoidal form coaxial with the cylinder the longitudinal lines of the fins being at an angle of less than fifteen degrees to longitudinal elements of the cylinder, the motor including means to direct air against the fins in a direction parallel to the axis of the cylinder, the spaces between the fins being clear and open radially, whereby incident air is free to move radially as described.

HENRY E. BLOMGREN. 

